If there is one thing that should unite Maltese society it must be the importance of having a high quality public education system that enhances the chances of young people finding suitable employment in a world undergoing vast technological changes.
Our education system has the objective of integrating technology in the curricula that are followed in the 21st century classroom. The educators aim to achieve four key components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts. This can only be achieved if educators are not only respected as a profession but work in conditions that motivate them to give their best to their students.
One other skill that increasingly matters for both employers and employees in today’s knowledge economy is the ability to keep learning throughout one’s working life. With technology changing in unpredictable ways, employees need to be able to pick up new skills and the education system should provide such opportunities. This is by no means a light job description for educators.
An honest assessment on whether our education system is achieving these objectives will cast serious doubts on how prepared we actually are for the big technological changes that will transform the face of the workplace as we know it today. This assessment comes from the coalface of our education system: the classrooms. The feedback the Malta Union of Teachers gets from its members makes sad reading. It does not augur well for the future of our society.
The teachers’ union has issued a stark warning to the government on the poor state of the human resources management in schools. “As things stand now, we need to employ about 60 primary school teachers every year to meet the demand. However, over the next four years we’ll be lucky if there are 20 new teachers,” it complains. Clearly, young people about to select a University course are shunning teaching as a profession, presumably because of poor working conditions.
It is an open secret that when public services are given free at the point of delivery there comes a time when politicians will resort to their rationing to balance the books and not get into trouble with the Ministry of Finance that determines the expenditure budget. Education is one such free public service. However, according to the latest report of the Programme for International Student Assessment, Malta spends relatively as much as the European Union average on education and, yet, it features in the lowest places in the achievement records.
The best performing countries in education, including Finland, Singapore and Estonia, create the best working conditions to attract the best graduates from private industry, especially those who have an ingrained commitment to teach the tougher core subjects like English, mathematics, information technology and science. These working conditions do not only consist of competitive salaries but also assistance in running classes with students with mixed abilities as well as an effective role in defining the curriculum.
The teachers’ union is right when it points out that the reason why the education system is in crisis is because of “lack of support, poor wages and rigid regulations that are pushing young professionals away from the teaching profession”.
Free tablet computers for most students, new schools, various State-financed scholarships for teachers and stipends, of course, have a role to play in improving education standards. However, the single most important success factor will always remain a motivated and respected teaching profession.